January Bibliolust

It just seems appropriate that the first post of the new year should be about my bibliolust. I should note, though, that while I don’t make New Year’s resolutions (other than to resolve not to make them), my goal this year is to read 50 percent more than the number of books I buy. I figure that is a goal that will help me justify (rationalize) my book purchases but, between the library and review copies, is still realistic. And it may explain the brevity of this month’s list.

Get Out of the Way, Daniel Dinges — When a publicist said this novel was best suited for review by a Vietnam vet or Baby Boomer, probably male, I figured I met the last two categories. Besides, I’m up for almost any novel that deals with the impact of Vietnam on America in the 1960s.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, Chad Orzel — Certainly, the geek side of me is intrigued by the mysteries of quantum physics. But, honestly, it’s really the title of this book that draws me to it. I just how that if and when I get a chance to read this, I am at least as smart as my dogs.

The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, Iain McGilchrist — This is one of those works that may be too long and deep for my pea brain. To-wit, the author says on his website, “This book argues that the division of the brain into two hemispheres is essential to human existence, making possible incompatible versions of the world, with quite different priorities and values.” But every review I’ve seen raves about it so if I will likely seek it out at the library or bookstores.

We read, frequently if unknowingly, in quest of a mind more original than our own.